FRANKLIN, Tenn.—Senior Emily Talley and the No. 10 University of Colorado women’s golf team turned in one of the better afternoon rounds on the golf course and finished the first round of the 2012 NCAA Championships and sit tied for 11th place here at the Vanderbilt Legends Golf Club on Tuesday.

The Buffs did turn in the third best score of the teams that teed off last, a 9-over par 297, behind No. 2 Alabama, which leads after a 2-under 286, and No. 7 LSU, who is tied for seventh after a 5-over par 293 on the par 72, 6,377-yard course. Talley shot a 1-under par 71 and is tied for 12th individually.

The Crimson Tide holds a two-stroke lead over No. 27 Virginia, who shot an even par 288 and sits in second place. No. 8 Duke is third at 1-over par 289 with No. 6 North Carolina holding down fourth place with a 2-over par 290. No. 1 UCLA and No. 5 Arizona State are tied for fifth at 4-over par 292. The Tigers and No. 33 Purdue are tied for seventh at 5-over par 293 with No. 26 Oklahoma alone in ninth place at 6-over par 294. No. 24 Michigan State is 8-over par 296 in 10th place, one shot ahead of the Buffs, who are tied with No. 3 Southern California and No. 32 Texas at 9-over par 297.

“I think we could’ve played better, but I think we definitely got rid of some of the jitters,” CU coach Anne Kelly said. “It’s a tough course and even tougher in the afternoon. We got off to a bit of a shaky start, but I’m proud of how we hung in there and fought the whole way. We didn’t make a lot of putts, but I think they’re more used to the greens now and I think we’ll do better.”

The Buffaloes did rally in the second half of the day after the four scoring players shot a 10-over par on the first nine holes of the day, the back nine of the course, they responded and shot a collective 1-under remain in contention.

“I think the first half was a little bit of nerves,” Kelly said. “Once they got playing and back into routine, they settled down and hopefully they’ll keep going from here.”

Talley had a very solid round that included 15 pars, two birdies and a bogey. She had a putt for eagle on her final hole and missed her only short putt of the day for birdie, finishing with a par to remain at 1-under par. She got a bogey on her second hole, the par 4 No. 11, and then got back to even par three holes later with a birdie on the par 5 No. 14. She then had 10 straight pars before a birdie on the par 5 No. 7 and she pared her final two holes.

“It was surprisingly stressful,” Talley said. “I was really kind of leaving a lot of putts that could have missed. That last putt was the shortest putt I missed, I was making everything else from five to 10 feet, I made a 30-footer for par on one hole. That’s how I was playing, putts for saves. It was never easy, I had one easy birdie, but other than that it was just a little stressful.”

Talley’s under par round is the her second straight round under par and her third under par for her this postseason after she shot a 69 in the second round of the Pac-12 Championships and a 68 in the final round of the NCAA West Regional. The 71 is the sixth-best postseason round in CU history and it’s the fourth time in her career she has posted back-to-back subpar rounds. It’s her sixth round under par this season and her 24th career round under par, 10 more than any player in program annals.

“I was pulling my shots a little bit, but other than that, it was fun,” Talley said. “I was making putts, and that’s what I’ve been nervous about lately, but I’ve been working really hard, and I was making them even when I was nervous except for the last one. I feel like I set up myself well, I didn’t put myself behind in any sense. I’m 1-under par, going into the next few rounds, that doesn’t hurt.”

Sophomores Alex Stewart and Kristin Coleman both shot 3-over par 75 and are tied for 47th individually. Sophomore Jenny Coleman shot a 4-over par 76 and is tied for 70th while senior Jess Wallace struggled a bit and finished at 6-over par 78 and tied for 95th.

“We are right there, and that’s with Emily having a good round, but with the other players just playing OK,” Kelly said. So if we get anybody with a hot putter tomorrow, it will be fun to see what happens. Emily played a good, solid round; the twins both struggled early but brought it back. Alex played a solid round, she probably didn’t hit the ball as well as she wanted but she’ll get it going tomorrow.”

Stewart got to her 3-over par 75 with 14 pars, one birdie, two bogeys and one double bogey. She doubled the par 4 No. 15, her sixth hole of the day, and then played the final 12 holes at even with one birdie and one bogey.

“My swing didn’t feel great,” Stewart said. “I felt like I had my ‘C Swing’ going on. I was able to get up and down a lot and make some good par saves. I did have three bad holes out there, but that’s because I didn’t put myself into good position.”

Kristin Coleman bogeyed three of her first four holes before settling down and playing the remaining 15 holes at even par with two birdies and two bogeys. After those first three holes, she responded immediately the rest of the way. She bogeyed her 10th hole, the par 4 No. 1, she responded with a birdie on No. 2, and then when she bogeyed the par 5 No. 6, she birdied No. 7.

Jenny Coleman immediately responded to a bogey on her first hole, the par 4 No. 10 with a birdie on No. 11. She then struggled to close out the first half of her round with four bogeys in the last five holes from Nos. 14-18, but responded shooting even on her back nine with a birdie on the par 4 No. 4 and a bogey on the par 4 No. 8, her second to last hole.

Wallace had a bit of a roller coaster round, getting a rare double bogey on her first hole only to follow it up with an eagle on the par 4 No. 11. She was the only player all day to eagle that hole, but she followed it up with consecutive bogeys and closed her front nine at 3-over par. She also had a double bogey on the par 5 No. 7 to move to 7-over par on the round and responded with a birdie on the final hole, the par 5 No. 4.

Virginia’s Portland Rosen came out smoking in the first round, shooting a 7-under par 29 on her front nine before finishing with a 6-under par 66, a school record for the Cavaliers. She finished the NCAA Central Regional in 101st place. Purdue’s Laura Gonzales is second individually at 5-under par 67 while North Carolina’s Catherine O’Donnell and Alabama’s Brooke Pancake are tied for third after shooting 4-under par 68. There is a then a four-way tie for fifth place at 3-under par 69.

Wednesday’s second round will see the Buffs tee off in the morning wave, as the Buffs hit the tee box starting at 8:25 a.m. CT off of No. 1. The Buffs will be reseeded within the team but will remain with Alabama and Tennessee for the second round.

“I’m looking forward to playing in the morning,” Talley said. “You’re fresh, you’re waking up you’re not sitting around your hotel room for six hours. It’s like we’re playing 36 holes, we just have a nap time in between. We’re playing, getting done in the evening and going right back out the next morning. Whereas the players who played this morning are waiting almost 24 hours before they get out and play.”

“It’ll be interesting to see what the morning round is like,” Kelly said. “I would expect the greens would hold a little better. I think the wind should stay down a little bit. It’s a challenging course, and with the afternoon things drying out and greens firming up, it was difficult.”

“It’s good to see how the course is playing when you’re in competition, because it’s a little different from practice,” Stewart concluded. “I think it’s going to help for tomorrow. I think I’ll like playing in the morning better; I’m hoping the ball will sit more and not just take off when it hits the green. I’m hoping they’ll be a little softer.”